


Trying

by Storm_Cycle



Category: Haikyuu!!, 風が強く吹いている | Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru | Run with the Wind (Anime)
Genre: Awkwardness, Character Growth, Family, Kageyama and Kakeru are step brothers, Kageyama is awkward, Kakeru is trying, Kakeru loves Haiji and doesn't know it yet, M/M, Step-Brothers, Step-parents, Step-siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 12:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storm_Cycle/pseuds/Storm_Cycle
Summary: Kakeru travels to his father's house. It's awkward and he barely knows his stepbrother. But he tries.AKA: Kakeru and Tobio are stepbrothers and it's the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, but both of them are the immovable object.





	Trying

**Author's Note:**

> Saw several Kageyama/Kakeru stepbrother things, but none of them really tickled my fancy. So here's this.

Kakeru felt the closest he ever had to Yuki when he found out that Yuki’s mother had remarried a man he did not know. He hadn’t lied when he told Yuki that he wasn’t close to his family, but he still felt a sense of guilt for ignoring their attempts to reach out. To ease his guilty conscience, Kakeru planned to visit home for a few days out of the spring break. 

At first, he didn’t want to leave Haiji who was still laid up in bed most of the day for another few weeks, but he insisted that he would be fine and that Kakeru needed to see his family. So Kakeru traveled to Miyagi to visit the father who had given him only his name and running, the stepmother he barely knew, and an unfamiliar stepbrother. 

The train ride to the house he had seen only a handful of times wasn’t long. It served to feed Kakeru’s guilt. His family was barely a train ride away, and he still hadn’t bothered to visit, let alone call. He didn’t resent his father. To be honest, he didn’t feel much of anything at all about him, and Kakeru was pretty sure that was worse. The train to Miyagi was mostly empty, so Kakeru was able to sit with his repurposed sports bag at his feet, the rest of the passengers maintaining a respectful distance. 

He found his father waiting for him in the mostly empty station. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Hi, Dad,” was all that Kakeru was able to say.

“Hello, Kakeru,” his father replied.

They walked back to the house, which wasn’t far from the station.

“Tobio is still in school. Today is his last day before the break.”

Kakeru made a noise of acknowledgment, and the rest of the short walk was spent in silence. When they entered the house, Kakeru observed that it was clean and quiet. The only sign of a teenage boy was a pair of scuffed, muddy sneakers haphazardly thrown in the genkan. 

“I’m home,” his father callsed

“Welcome back.” It was a woman’s voice, drifting from some unknown room in the house. 

She appeared in the hallway a few moments later while Kakeru is pulling on the slippers his father had given him. 

“I made lunch,” she said softly, and Kakeru follows his father and her to the kitchen.

Kakeru tries to eat quickly, but not so quickly that it seems like he is trying to avoid his father and stepmother. 

“I’m sorry, but you’ll be sleeping in Tobio’s room while you’re here,” Fuyumi said. “There’s an extra futon ready for you there.”

Kakeru nodded, but in his head, he was remembering meeting her for the first time. It was in a family restaurant. A 14 year old boy with hair plastered to his forehead was sitting across from him, and his glare, strong enough to curdle milk, was trained directly on him. The intensity of that glare had distracted him from the unfamiliar woman until she had said, “You can call me by my given name, Fuyumi. You’re nearly an adult. No sense in treating you like a child.”

“Thank you, Fuyumi-san,” Kakeru replied.

He soon excused himself to the restroom. He didn’t need to go. He just wanted to get away from his father and the nice wife he barely knew. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he opened it to find a text.

Yuki: Haiji wants to know if you’re there. He’s being a nuisance.

Me: I promised to text when I got here, but I forgot. Tell him I’m sorry. 

Yuki: I’m not your messenger.

Yuki: How are they?

Me: I don’t know

Kakeru wasn’t sure if Yuki would poke fun or understand. He had a feeling that Yuki knew what he was trying to say.

Yuki: It’s weird. I know. Call Haiji tonight, he might try to run Hakone again if he doesn’t hear from you.

Kakeru feels a little warm. He had worried so much about Haiji afterward, but he hadn’t changed.

“It was worth it,” Haiji had told him.

Kakeru had cried, but it was selfish. He had cried because Haiji would never run with him again. Not the Hakone Ekiden. Not any race. Not at all. 

“You’re my reason for running,” Kakeru had said. 

“Then run,” Haiji had commanded before promptly passing out when the pain medication kicked in. 

Kakeru wanted to run now. His food hadn’t fully settled, but he couldn’t stay in the house a minute longer.

“I’m going out for a run,” Kakeru told his father, who was still in the kitchen, talking with Fuyumi.

“I put your bag in Tobio’s room,” Fuyumi said with a soft smile. 

Kakeru nodded. 

He ran for a long time, trying to let the wind blow his thoughts right out of his head. A bench came up in his field of vision, and he slowed before stopping completely. Hunched over with hands on his thighs, he allowed himself to catch his breath. 

Before he had fully decided, his phone was held up to his ear, ringing. He heard a shuffle and a pained grunt before Haiji’s wonderful, tired voice. 

“Hello?”

“Haiji,” Kakeru breathed.

“Kakeru?” Sleep left his voice. “You were supposed to text,” he accused.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Haiji paused for a moment, pretending to contemplate, and Kakeru knew he was teasing him. “I guess I can forgive you.”

“Good,” Kakeru huffed.

“How is it?”

“Good,” Kakeru said, without thinking.

“Don’t lie to me, Kakeru.”

“I— I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m out for a run right now. I had to get out of there.”

“You should go back,” Haiji said. “They invited you to stay, They want to see you.”

Kakeru paused, unsure, but unwilling to admit that to Haiji.

“They want to see you,” Haiji repeated. “It’s only for a few days, and then you’ll be back here fussing over me like a mother hen.”

“Like you,” Kakeru said immediately.

“What?”

“Like you. You’re a mother hen.”

“Shut up,” Haiji said, but Kakeru thought he sounded secretly pleased. “Call me tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye,” Kakeru said. 

Kakeru didn’t run back to the house. He walked, taking his time, and he wondered how Haiji was going to manage. Staying this speed his whole life. Kakeru didn’t think he’d be able to manage. But running was Haiji, so maybe he would be able to bear it with Haiji walking next to him. Maybe he would give up running altogether— if it meant that he could keep pace with Haiji.

It was nearly sunset by the time he got back to the house, and he heard voices floating from a little way down the road.

“Hey, hey, hey, Kageyama!”

Kakeru looked up. Tobio was walking down the sidewalk, hands shoved into his pockets, accompanied by a much smaller boy with bright orange hair. He couldn’t see his mouth, but Kakeru was pretty sure he was scowling at the ground.

“What?” Tobio growled.

“Race you to your door!”

The pair tore off to the front door like a pair of demons. Kakeru just stopped and allowed them to race past.

“I win!” The boy with orange hair announced.

“You liar!” Tobio shouted. “I definitely won!”

“That’s 191 for me and 180 for you.”

“Learn to count, dumbass!” Tobio yelled, putting the smaller boy into a headlock.

Kakeru wasn’t sure whether he should intervene or not, but he approached the front door anyway, probably against the better judgment that he definitely lacked. 

The boy with orange hair looked up, and his eyes widened.

“Kageyama! Kageyama! I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“What? A brother?” Tobio turned around and say Kakeru standing, rather awkwardly, a few meters away from the step.

Now that he was closer, he could tell that Tobio was tall. Taller than him, though Kakeru wasn’t particularly tall. Still, he must have grown since the last time they had seen each other.

“Oh.”

“What?” his... friend? asked. “Bakageyama forgot he had a brother?”

“Shut up, Hinata!”

“Hi, Tobio-kun,” Kakeru offered.

“Kakeru—” he paused. “Kakeru nii-san.”

“Kakeru is fine,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. It was itchy with dried sweat.

The orange haired boy— Hinata— was gaping stupidly.

“We’re stepbrothers, idiot,” Tobio said, punching him in the arm.

“Oh,” Hinata said. “You look alike. But he’s shorter.” He pointed at Kakeru, who had no idea how to respond.

“He’s older,” Tobio hissed. “Show some respect.”

“Oh,” Hinata whispered. “Hi Kageyama-san,” he said as he bowed so quickly and so low that Kakeru was afraid that he had hurt himself.

“Kurahara,” Tobio said. “His family name is Kurahara.”

Kakeru could see Hinata gear up for the violent bow once again. “It’s okay,” he said before he could hurt himself. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Just go home,” Tobio said to Hinata. “And don’t forget your bike on the sidewalk again.”

Hinata made a face. “Bakageyama,” he muttered.

“Get lost!” Tobio shouted as he let himself and Kakeru inside.

Kakeru noticed that Tobio hadn’t quite shut the door though they were both in the house.

“Bye Kageyama, Kurahara-san!” Hinata called.

Through the crack in the door, Kakeru saw him as he raced past on his bike. Tobio slammed it shut and kicked off his shoes. 

“Sorry about him,” Tobio muttered. “He’s a dumbass.”

Kakeru was not much for conversation, but he knew that as the older of the two, he should make an effort. “A friend of yours?”

Haiji would be proud if he found out.

Tobio makes a face. “No.”

Kakeru had a feeling that Tobio meant yes.

“A teammate,” Tobio said. “I toss to him.”

Kakeru couldn’t remember for the life of him what sport Tobio played, so he just nodded. Guilt began to creep back in. 

At dinner, Kakeru learned that Tobio’s sport was volleyball. He tried. He tried so hard. Kakeru talked more at that table than all the times he had in the past week combined. 

After dinner, Tobio told him that he went to bed early every night so he could wake up for morning practice.

“I go on morning runs,” Kakeru told him.

Tobio nodded in something that Kakeru thought might be approval. 

So Kakeru took his bath and wondered if Haiji was doing the same. He wondered if he was grumbling about not being able to go to the bathhouse just as he had been grumbling for the past week. He wondered who it was that was helping him into the bath because Kakeru wasn’t there to do it. 

Heat spread across Kakeru’s face, and he was unable to blame it on the water. He sunk beneath the water a little, embarrassed, even while alone. 

When he was done, Tobio bathed, and after that, helped him to roll out his futon and get linens. 

“Sorry for taking your room,” Kakeru said.

Tobio shrugged. 

The lights were out and both of them in their beds when Tobio said, “I heard you broke a record.”

Kakeru says nothing for a moment, a little startled. Tobio must have been trying to make an effort too. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I did. The 9th leg of the Hakone Ekiden.”

“But you didn’t win,” Tobio said matter-of-factly.

“No,” Kakeru agreed. “But we got there. And we learned a lot.”

“Aren’t you a little mad,” Tobio asked, “that you didn’t win?”

“No,” Kakeru said. “I’m glad I got to hand the sash to my teammate and catch him at the finish line.”

Tobio grunted in acknowledgment. 

“Goodnight, Tobio-kun,” Kakeru said, after a few beats of silence.

“Goodnight,” Tobio said. “Good night, Kakeru-san.”

Kakeru smiled into the darkness.


End file.
